Mauritania

total:

1.7 cu km/yr (9%/3%/88%)

per capita:

554 cu m/yr (2000)

• overgrazing, deforestation, and soil erosion aggravated by drought are contributing to desertification;
• limited natural fresh water resources away from the Senegal, which is the only perennial river;
• locust infestation

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

at birth:

1.03 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.01 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.89 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.74 male(s)/female

total population:

0.93 male(s)/female (2010 est.)

degree of risk:

high

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases:

malaria and Rift Valley fever

respiratory disease:

meningococcal meningitis

animal contact disease:

rabies (2009)

noun:

Mauritanian(s)

adjective:

Mauritanian

conventional long form:

Islamic Republic of Mauritania

conventional short form:

Mauritania

local long form:

Al Jumhuriyah al Islamiyah al Muritaniyah

local short form:

Muritaniyah

name:

Nouakchott

geographic coordinates:

18 07 N, 16 02 W

time difference:

UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

chief of state:

• President Mohamed Ould Abdel AZIZ (since 5 August 2009);
• note - AZIZ, who deposed democratically elected President Sidi Ould Cheikh ABDELLAHI in a coup and installed himself as President of the High State Council on 6 August 2008, retired from the military and stepped down from the Presidency in April 2009 to run for president;
• he was elected president in an election held on 18 July 2009

head of government:

Prime Minister Moulaye Ould Mohamed LAGHDAF (since 14 August 2008)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers; (For more information visit theWorld Leaders website)

elections:

• following the August 2008 coup, the High State Council planned to hold a new presidential election in June 2009;
• the election was subsequently rescheduled to 18 July 2009 following the Dakar Accords, which brought Mauritania back to constitutional rule;
• under Mauritania's constitution, the president elected by popular vote for a five-year term;
• election last held on 18 July 2009 (next to be held by 2014)

election results:

percent of vote - Mohamed Ould Abdel AZIZ 52.6%, Messaoud Ould BOULKHEIR 16.3%, Ahmed Ould DADDAH 13.7%, Other 17.4%

• Supreme Court or Cour Supreme;
• Court of Appeals;
• lower courts

• Alternative or El-Badil [Mohamed Yahdhi Ould MOCTAR HACEN];
• Coalition of Majority Parties or CPM (parties supporting the regime including
  • PRDR,
  • UPR,
  • RD,
  • HATEM-PMUC,
  • UCD)
  ;
• Coordination of Democratic Opposition or COD (coalition of opposition political parties opposed to the government including
  • APP,
  • RFD,
  • UFP,
  • PNDD-ADIL,
  • Alternative or El-Badil)
  ;
• Democratic Renewal or RD [Moustapha Ould ABDEIDARRAHMANE];
• Mauritanian Party for Unity and Change or HATEM-PMUC [Saleh Ould HANENA];
• National Pact for Democracy and Development or PNDD-ADIL [Yahya Ould Ahmed Ould WAGHEF] (independents formerly supporting President Abdellahi);
• National Rally for Freedom, Democracy and Equality or RNDLE;
• National Rally for Reform and Development/RNRD-TAWASSOUL [Mohamed Jamil MANSOUR] (moderate Islamists);
• Popular Front or FP [Ch'bih Ould CHEIKH MALAININE];
• Popular Progressive Alliance or APP [Messoud Ould BOULKHEIR];
• Rally of Democratic Forces or RFD [Ahmed Ould DADDAH];
• Republican Party for Democracy and Renewal or PRDR [Mintata Mint HDEID];
• Socialist and Democratic Unity Party or PUDS;
• Union for Democracy and Progress or UDP [Naha Mint MOUKNASS];
• Union for the Republic or UPR;
• Union of Democratic Center or UCD [Cheikh Sid'Ahmed Ould BABA];
• Union of the Forces for Progress or UFP [Mohamed Ould MAOULOUD];

• General Confederation of Mauritanian Workers or CGTM [Abdallahi Ould MOHAMED, secretary general];
• Independent Confederation of Mauritanian Workers or CLTM [Samory Ould BEYE];
• Mauritanian Workers Union or UTM [Mohamed Ely Ould BRAHIM, secretary general]

other:

• Arab nationalists;
• Ba'thists;
• Islamists

chief of mission:

Ambassador Mohamed Lemine EL HAYCEN

chancery:

2129 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 232-5700 through 5701

FAX:

[1] (202) 319-2623

chief of mission:

Ambassador Mark M. BOULWARE

embassy:

288 Rue Abdallaye, Rue 42-100 (between Presidency building and Spanish Embassy), Nouakchott

mailing address:

BP 222, Nouakchott

telephone:

[222] 525-2660 through 2663

FAX:

[222] 525-1592

• green with a yellow five-pointed star above a yellow, horizontal crescent;
• the closed side of the crescent is down;
• the crescent, star, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam;
• the gold color stands for the sands of the Sahara

name:

"Hymne National de la Republique Islamique de Mauritanie" (National Anthem of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania)

lyrics/music:

Baba Ould CHEIKH/traditional, arranged by Tolia NIKIPROWETZKY

note: adopted 1960; the unique rhythm of the Mauritanian anthem makes it particularly challenging to sing

agriculture:

50%

industry:

10%

services:

40% (2001 est.)

lowest 10%:

2.5%

highest 10%:

29.5% (2000)

general assessment:

• limited system of cable and open-wire lines, minor microwave radio relay links, and radiotelephone communications stations;
• mobile-cellular services expanding rapidly

domestic:

• Mauritel, the national telecommunications company, was privatized in 2001 but remains the monopoly provider of fixed-line services;
• fixed-line teledensity 2 per 100 persons;
• mobile-cellular network coverage extends mainly to urban areas with a teledensity of 70 per 100 persons;
• mostly cable and open-wire lines;
• a domestic satellite telecommunications system links Nouakchott with regional capitals

international:

• country code - 222;
• satellite earth stations - 3 (1 Intelsat - Atlantic Ocean, 2 Arabsat);
• optical-fiber and Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) cables for internet access (2008)

• broadcast media state-owned;
• 1 state-run TV and 1 state-run radio network;
• Television de Mauritanie, the state-run TV station, has an additional 6 regional TV stations that provide local programming (2008)

total:

11,066 km

country comparison to the world: 133

paved:

2,966 km

unpaved:

8,100 km (2006)

• 18 years of age (est.);
• conscript service obligation - 2 years;
• majority of servicemen believed to be volunteers;
• service in Air Force and Navy is voluntary (2006)

males age 16-49:

699,028

females age 16-49:

783,108 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49:

464,959

females age 16-49:

562,765 (2010 est.)

male:

35,322

female:

36,035 (2010 est.)

current situation:

• Mauritania is a source and destination country for children trafficked for forced labor and sexual exploitation;
• slavery-related practices, rooted in ancestral master-slave relationships, continue to exist in isolated parts of the country;
• Mauritanian boys called talibe are trafficked within the country by religious teachers for forced begging;
• children are also trafficked by street gangs within the country that force them to steal, beg, and sell drugs;
• girls are trafficked internally for domestic servitude and sexual exploitation;
• women and children from neighboring states are trafficked into Mauritania for purposes of forced begging, domestic servitude, and sexual exploitation

tier rating:

• Tier 3 - the Government of Mauritania does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so;
• the government did not show evidence of overall progress in prosecuting and punishing trafficking offenders, protecting trafficking victims, and preventing new incidents of trafficking during the past year;
• progress that the previous government demonstrated in 2007 through enactment of strengthened anti-slavery legislation and deepened political will to eliminate slavery and trafficking has stalled;
• law enforcement efforts to address human trafficking including traditional slavery practices decreased (2009)